Printing press



KNOV- 10, 1925 A. c. CHRISTOPHERSON manna mass Filed Feb. 24, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1'6 6, 4% fi ban m NOV. 10, A. C. CHRISTCJPHERSON PRINTING PRESS Filed Feb. 24. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W55 6.? 635215 M W Patented Nov. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED C. GHRISTOPHERSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HACKER MANU- FACTURING 00., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

/ PRINTING PRESS.

Application filed February 24, 1925. Serial No. 11,194.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED C. Crnusro- PHERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and the State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Printing Presses, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

. My invention relates to printing presses employing sheet receiving cylinders that are provided with grippers for holding sheets that are fed to the cylinders, and resides in the provision of mechanism for releasing the grippers at different pointsin the circle of rotation of such a cylinder. My invention is of particular service in connection with those printing presses employing sheet re: ceiving cylinders that turn a revolution and a fraction in their operating cycles whereby the grippers may be released at the commencement of a cycle to permit of the feeding of a sheet, and may be again released after the printing operation and at the con clusion of the operating cycle to permit the printed sheet to be removed. My invention has actually been embodled in a proof press though it is not to be limited to any particular embodiment.

In carrying out my invention the gripper releasing mechanism is made to include two complemental members, one of these members being carried by the cyllnder and coupled with the grippers and desirably belng in'the form of an arm connected at one end with the gripper shaft and carrying a cam roller at its other end. The other gripper releasing member is preferably in the form of a cam upon which the cam roller rides, this second gripper releasing member belng adjustable in alternative functioning positions for the purpose stated.

The invention will be more fully explained in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 isa sideview of a part of a printing press w1th portions broken away and parts shown in sectlon, the structure illustrated being made in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of one side portion of the press as illustrated n Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an irregular sectional v1ew taken crosswise of the cylinder; Fig. 4 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, on line of Fig. 1, and .Fig. 5 is a sectional View on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

leading edge of the sheet when the sheet has i been placed against said guides. The grippers 6 are fixed upon a common shaft 7 which is journaled in the side walls of the cylinder. An arm 8 is fixed upon one end of the shaft and is connected at its other end by a spring 9 with the cylinder whereby the grippers are applied to the sheet when the spring is free to act. A cam 10 serves to raise the arm against the force of the spring through the intermediation of a cam roller 11 which is carried upon the arm. The press illustrated is one in which the cylinder is turned one and one-half revolutions in its operating cycle, the grippers being released at the commencement of this cycle to permit a sheet to be fed to the cylinder, Fig. 1, and the grippers being again released at the conclusion of the operating cycle to permit the printed sheet 12 to be removed, Fig. 3. At the connnencement of the operating cycle of the cylinder the printing form 2 is at one side of the cylinder as indicated in Fig. 1, and at the conclusion of this operating cycle the printing form is at the other side of the cylinder, as illustrated in Fig. 3. In accordance with my invention the cam 10 is placed in one of its alternative positions illustrated in Fig. 1, to release the grippers to permit the sheet 12 to be fed to the cylinder, and is placed in the other of its alternative positions illustrated in Fig. 3 again to release the grippers in order that the printed sheet may be removed, the cam in each operation being in such a position that the cam roller 11 will ride thereon to move the grippers outwardly against the force of the spring 9 and thereafter clearing this roller to permit the spring to apply the grlppers.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the cylinder is caused to place the cam in its alternative positions, the cylinder performing this function through the intermediation of speed reducing gearing. When this means for adjusting the cam is employed the cam is preferably mounted to turn about and upon the axis of the cylinder. The speed reducing gearing is prefercam 10 is desirably an enlargement of the hub of the spur gear 17, where this spur gear is in adjusting relation with said cam. A fourth spur gear 18 is held stationary by means of a pin 19 carried by the frame 20 of the press, the outer end of this pin being received in a notch in the gear 18 that meshes with gear 13. This latter gear is also coaxial with the cylinder, being desirably held coaxial by snugly surrounding the cylinder shaft, the spur gear 17 being desirably similarly held coaxial with the cylinder- The gear 18 is larger than gear 13 and smaller than gear 17 As the press is viewed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the cylinder is turned to the right one and one-half revolutions during its operating cycle in which the sheet is fed and is printed upon, the cylinder being reversed and returned to the initial position illustrated 111 Fig. 1 one and one-half revolutions ,at the conclusion of this operating cycle and after the printed sheet has been removed when the cylinder has reached the conclusion of its operating cycle illustrated in Fig. 3. During the operating cycle of the cylinder the cam 10 turns upon the axis of the cylinder at a slower rate than the cylinder is turned so as to reach the position illustrated in Fig. 3- whenthe operating cycle of the cylinder has been concluded. The camis re stored to its initial position at the commencement, of the operating cycle when the print-- ing cylinder has been turned one and onehalf revolutions in a reverse direction. The cam, thus, does not release the grippers at any intermediate portion of the operating cycle of the cylinder, while at the same time it is made to perform the function of two cams that would otherwise have to be employed, one to function in the position illustrated in Fig. l and the other to function in the position illustrated in Fig. 3.

Changes may be made without departing from my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a printing press, the combination with two complemental printing members of which one is a: rotatable sheet receiving cylinder turning more than a revolution in its operating cycle; of sheet grippers car ried by the cylinder and having means for applying them to sheets fed to the cylinder; mechanism for releasing the grippers and inclusive of complemental members, one of these members being carried by the cylinder and coupled with the grippers and the second member being mounted to turn about the axis of the cylinder to be adjustable in functioning position with respect to its complemental member and the cylinder; and gearing having" a portion upon the cylinder and eccentric to the cylinder axis and a complemental portion coaxial with the cylinder and coupled with the second aforesaid gripper releasing member, said gearing being constructed to place the latter memberin functionin position at the beginning and ending of the operating cycle of the cylinder.

2. In a printing press, the combination with two complemental printing members of which one is a rotating sheet receiving cylinder turning more than a revolution in its operating cycle; of sheet grippers carried by the cylinder and having means for applying them to sheets fed to the cylinder; mechanism for releasing the grippers and inclusive of complement-a1 members, one of these members being carried by the cylinder and coupled with the grippers and speed reducing gearing coupling the cylinder with and operating to adjust the second gripper releasing member to functioning position at the beginning and ending of the operating cycle of the cylinder, this speed reducing gearing including two relatively fixed coaxial spur gears of different size mounted to turn upon the cylinder upon one side ofthe cylinder axis, a third spur gear coaxial with the cylinder and larger than the smaller of the aforesaid relatively fixed gears with which it is in mesh and which is in adjusting relation with the second gripper releasing member, and a fourth spur gear also coaxial with the cylinder and in mesh with and serving to turn the larger one of the two relatively fixed gears.

3-. In a printing press, the combinationwith two com-plemental printing members of which one is a rotating sheet receiving cylinder turning more than a revolution in its operating cycle; of sheet grippers carried by the cylinder and having means for applying them to sheets fed to the cylinder; mechanism for releasing the grippers and inclusiveof complemental members, one of these members being carried by the cylinder and coupled with the grippers; and speed reducing gearing coupling the cylinder with and operating to adjust the second gripper releasing member to functioning position at the beginning and ending of the operating cycle of the cylinder,v this speed reducing gearing including two relatively fixed c0 axial spur gears of different size mounted to turn upon the cylinder upon one side of the cylinder axis, a third spur ear coaxial with the cylinder and larger than the smaller of the aforesaid relatively fixed gears with which it is in mesh and which is in adjusting relation with the second gripper releasing member, and a fourth and stationary spur gear also coaxlal with the cylinder and in mesh with and serving to turn the larger one of the two relatively fixed gears, the i0 fourth spur gear being smaller than the third spur gear and larger than the larger of the two relatively fixed gears.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name.

ALFRED C. OHRISTOPHERSON. 

